Much Ado About DiddlySquat
by RogueDragon and Nebulan
Summary: The Shakespearean play adapted to a story with Goliath's clan and two former enemies. Dem/MacB Story in very early stages


Ages have come and gone for Demona. For most of her existence she had measured these ages by generations in human culture if she happened to be paying attention. However, in the recent decade, more chapters have opened and closed for her than she would have thought possible a century earlier.

These chapters began when she thought her solitude was coming to an end with the revival of her old clan and the reunion with the love of her life. Plans, however, didn't go quite the way she would have liked and she chose instead to continue her ambitions she had been previously investing.

A new chapter began when she rediscovered love in the arms of a malicious duplicate of her previous mate at about the same time she discovered that she had a daughter. This chapter of her life saw the fruition of her years of violence finally reaping a wealthy harvest, but it also a reawakening of her heart as well as. Once again she was given the option of changing who she had become and to be accepted into a family again; and like before, she missed out once again.

As strong as her desire for companionship and love was, having gone a millennium without, her ambitions and paranoia had overruled these desires so often that a future opportunity would likely be wasted as well if ever offered to her. Angela, Demona's daughter, who heavily romanticized the idea of family and with a genuine love for her psychopathic mother, researched, begged, and plotted a solution. The Plan involved the innovative and leading edge-technology provided by Xanatos who was happy to help; the creativity and determination of her clan; and with a little magic, they found and kidnapped Demona. In her brain, they implanted a cybernetic chip that was intended to give her the opportunity to actually make a rational, thought-out decision.

Xanatos called it her Prozac Chip. Unlike medicinal anti-depressants that change in effectiveness with trail-and-error guesswork and changes in body chemistry (which changes dramatically for Demona with the rising and setting of the sun), the implant automatically assesses and corrects any chemical imbalance Demona may have had. The primary purpose of the device in her mind was to force her to take an objective look at herself and past, to face her demons and obsessions, and help her come to terms with it.

And, boy, did she hate each and every one of them for it. After all, they had forced her to face the pain and regret she had been running from for hundreds of years. They, of course, did more than just bug her brain. They brought in an open-minded and adaptive psychologist, kept her locked up for everyone's protection, and put in a lot of hours with her. Each clan member spent time with her (the psycologist's suggestion) so the could all work out their issues. Demona, of course, was on the other side of some very thick bars.

After all of this Angela revealed to her mother that all this was done to give her a new opportunity: to meet and get to know her grandson Arthur. The exceptionally affectionate hatchling melted Demona's heart and won her over instantly.

Because ethics demanded it, Demona was eventually given they chose in the matter when they thought she was capable of making a logical decision. Despite the protests by those who thought otherwise, Demona was told that if she wanted, they would remove the implant. As a consequence, however, due to her tendency for betrayal, she would no longer be a welcome visitor at Castle Wyvern. Otherwise, if she chose to keep it, she would be treated with tolerance and respect, even by begrudging Goliath and Brooklyn, and would be freed. To Angela's relief and joy (and everyone else's utter shock) Demona chose to keep the Prozac chip.

All of the Elisa was trying to make MacBeth aware of as they rode up the Erie Building's elevator to the castle at its top. MacBeth had business with Goliath after returning from his world tour, purporting himself as the world expert on Human/Gargoyles relations. MacBeth only vaguely listened to the NYPD detective and was more interested in learning more about the newest addition to Manhattan's Gargoyle Clan. Upon entering the Great Hall, MacBeth wished he had bothered to prepare himself more.

Gathered on the floor of the Hall was part of Goliath's clan along with some Xanatoses and Demona.

Trying to comprehend the image before him and decide which, if any, of his instincts he should let kick in upon seeing the face of his arch nemesis; MacBeth momentarily failed to react as a sky-blue blur streaked at him.

THWAAAK!

Demona had flying-kicked MacBeth in the jaw, sending him flying back against the wall. Several startled clan members rushed to detain Demona until they noticed that she wasn't continuing her attack.

"Lovely to see you again, MacBeth," Demona greeted.

"MOTHER!" Angela chided as she picked up her toddler and approached the Hall's entrance cautiously.

MacBeeth muttered some curses he had likely rarely spoke in the last few hundred years, so they were heavily accented and hard to understand. "I thought you were altered to behave or something of that sort!" MacBeth spat, clutching his jaw.

"So you assume I was practically a different gargoyle?" Demona laughed, looming over him, but showing to signs of engaging in a physical confrontation. "I simply thought that was how one was supposed to greet you!"

"Mother!" Angela and some of the others looked as if they thought they should apologize for Demona's behavior, be remembered that, after all, this still was Demona we're talking about.

"Ah, to be expected," MacBeth said, possibly to reassure the others, "there's not a sane bone in either of your bodies is there?"

With a mischievous smirk, Demona offered an assisting hand to MacBeth. "Yes, but I'm not the one who single-mindedly pursued suicide for nine centuries."

MacBeth eyed Demona's hand, not sure if he should accept the gesture, laugh, or defend himself. He chose to indulge in the irony of the situation and let the gargoyle help him to his feet. "At least I'm not so beyond hope that the only way your remotely tolerable is by rewiring your brain!"

"No, instead you break the human record for hermitage" Demona responded, taking a step back, giving him a scrutinizing expression, "that is until your let a red-headed French woman you barely knew marry you; becoming a cuckold the moment you sealed the vows. And all she really wanted was to use you."

"Rest assured, madam," MacBeth brushed himself off as he stood up as if they weren't in an immaculately clean modernized castle, "I have no intention of every repeating that mistake."

"What do you mean?" Demona asked casually, "That you'll never marry again? Or fall in love again?"

MacBeth leveled eyes with her. "Either," he replied flatly. For the first time, MacBeth sensed the presence of the others in the room since this was the first moment they were all silent. Before different people were attempting to divert or break the conversation, but the ancient rivals had tuned everyone out while simultaneously putting on a show of their intense dislike of each other for their witnesses: they needed to show they could non-violently hate each other, after all.

"That almost makes me sad for you," Demona continued after the pause. "But then I remember who I'm talking to."

"I've been striving to prove to myself that everyone is capable of change and a second chance," MacBeth concluded, "but then I remember who I'm talking to."

Demona smirked, turning to part from his company, "Put some ice on that jaw! It's starting to kill me!" She then ran and scooped up her grandson who had wandered away from the group singing. "Not remember little one," they could hear her telling Arthur, "don't randomly beat people up unless they deserve it. Don't follow your grandma's example."

"What have you done to her?" MacBeth watched in confusion.

"We've made her…" Elisa tried to find a word, "Personable?" and failed.

MacBeth left the group with Fox Xanatos to find her husband and Goliath for the business MacBeth had come for in the first place. Elisa, Angela, Broadway, and Lexington stayed near the Great Hall's entrance and watched him leave and Demona playing with Arthur and the Xanatos children, Alexander and Anastasia.

"Something about that interaction…" Elisa voiced aloud, trying to verbalize her thoughts.

"Was creepy and surreal?" Lexington offered.

"No…" Elisa continued, "well, yes, but it reminded me something… Shakespearean I think… The one where the couple hates each other, and swears they'd never marry anyone, and in the end marry each other?"

"What, 'Much Ado About Nothing'?" Broadway offered with incredulity.

"Yeah, I think that's the one!" Elisa nodded firmly.

"Elisa, I hardly think my mother and MacBeth work as counterparts for Benedict and Beatrice," Angel said.

"Why not?" Elisa challenged.

"They both are incredibly hard-headed," Angela explained, "and they would never believe any trickery to entice them to fall in love with each other!"

"Oh come now," the human detective begged, "don't dismiss it too quickly, I mean, think about it, they used to be allies, they must have had something to base that off of!. And they used they be married, albeit for one disastrous evening in which they nearly succeeded in killing each other. We just need to do a little research! We're clever enough!"

"But 'Much Ado' is fiction, Elisa," Angela countered, "real-world people probably wouldn't have taken the rumors to heart as quickly in the play."

"But the premise was they were both too proud to have admitted that they had overheard anything, much less ask for proof," Broadway offered, eliciting a glare from his mate.

"Look, I'm just curious!" Elisa reassured, "obviously none of us know what went on between them…" Elisa glanced at Angela in an encouraging fashion.

"No promises, Elisa!" Angela concluded.


End file.
